1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and a computer program and, more particularly, to an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and a computer program capable of preferably supporting program viewing to a user by using electronic program guide (EPG) information.
2. Description of Related Art
Recently, a recording apparatus having a large-capacity hard disk has been provided. In addition, a recording apparatus having a function of automatically recording a program which matches with a user's preference based on the user's preference or a keyword by using EPG information of the program has also been provided (for example, see JP-A-2003-224798). A large-capacity recording apparatus having the automatic recording function can record and store a large number of programs. In addition, recently, a large number of programs have been provided through terrestrial broadcast, satellite broadcast, or cable television broadcast. Under the situation, there are a large number of programs which a user can view including recorded programs and currently broadcasted programs.
Rapid increase in the number of programs which the user can view provides advantages in that a wide selection range of the programs can be provided to the user. However, there is a problem in that searching for a program which the user desires to view among a large number of programs becomes a burden to the user.
Therefore, there is proposed an apparatus for providing a recommended program to the user based on the user's preference (for example, see JP-A-2005-56361).
However, even in the aforementioned apparatus, the user looks up a program table displayed on a screen and searches for a program which is recommended to the user. Therefore, in the apparatus, searching for the program which the user desires to view among a larger number of programs causes a burden to the user.